The King's Wife Is The Alpha's Mate

"This man…" Leland grounded his teeth at that thought. He could already imagine how much it must have burned inside of him when the man drank that. His assumption was correct then, all thanks to Sophie's mumbles in her sleep. 

Sophie's husband truly tried to cure himself of lycanthropy. So where was he now?

Leland searched across the field but could find nothing. His search ended when he came across a river. The lycan's scent was truly gone by that point.

What happened to him? Did he fall to the river and drown after being poisoned by wolfsbane?

Leland didn't want to jump to conclusions but… what else could possibly happen? 

"If this man actually managed to drink this much wolfsbane then his insides would be literally burning… I can't see or even imagine how he would survive it. And even if he did, he left himself out here in the open."

Leland didn't understand what the other man was even thinking when he decided to do this. Irritation flared within the Alpha because the decision that Sophie's husband made was both reckless and dangerous.

Whether or not Nicholas survived drinking the wolfsbane, if he was gone for so long and Sophie tried to search for him, there really only was one conclusion that appeared in the Alpha's mind.

If he survived, he would have searched for his wife. Sophie would have found him.

Yet, it's been weeks and Sophie was alone.

"He's dead," Leland flatly said.

There was no turning point about it and yet instead of relief or joy at the fact that Sophie's husband was gone and the idea that he could be the one who could be with Sophie, All Leland felt was anger because of what happened. 

How could this man easily put himself in danger when he had a woman who loved him and waited for him?

How selfish was this husband to make decisions without even thinking about his wife?

Sophie was going to grieve so hard and mourn once she learned that her husband was dead and that pained Leland to even imagine. The fact that Nicholas was already missing had already reduced her to tears made the Alpha upset.

He didn't want her to suffer at the realization that Nicholas was gone. But this... knowing her husband of only a few weeks was dead not long after they were married... would surely scar her for life.

"How could I even tell her this?" He felt his throat become so dry.

It was not even in Leland's position to simply inform about Nicholas' death to Sophie because he was unsure of how the woman might react. The two of them hadn't even seen each other in years and she didn't even know she was half a lycan.

Everything would only come out too suspicious.

Surely the idea that Leland approaching her and saying that her husband was dead and that he was her long-lost wolf cub would come out too bad.

There were many scenarios that flashed in Leland's mind.  All of them were terrible and ended up with Sophie hating him and shouting at him for coming back to Hauntingen.

Would Sophie lash out at Leland and blame him for the death of her husband?  Would Sophie also blame him once she realized that he failed to protect her and her family properly?

Leland wished that he was around during the time when Anne and Jack Hansley were attacked but he wasn't.  It was something that he never quite managed to forgive himself for.

The Alpha knew that he left the happy family because there was no other way to protect them from his evil mother and the elders of his werewolf pack, but Sophie's parents still ended up dying because of the royal family.

Even though Leland worked so hard and strove to become the Alpha of his pack so he could protect the people he loved, the truth was that Sophie was going to remain heartbroken. Leland's presence was nothing more but a nuisance.

Would Sophie think that if Leland never appeared then she and Nicholas could have lived happily? He was the reason why Nicholas brought Sophie to town and then went out to the forest alone.

The Alpha did not know if Nicholas would have still decided to take the wolfsbane in secret if he never arrived, but all that Leland knew was that the couple may have chosen to be separated for some time because of him.

If Leland hadn't appeared and disturbed them, perhaps Nicholas wouldn't have left Sophie to look for him at least. Leland's lashing out his anger on that tree must be the reason Nicholas thought Blackwoods was no longer safe for Sophie and decided to take her to Hauntingen, and he went back alone to look for the other lycan.

The Alpha closed his eyes and felt a wave of regret come over him because even after this incident… he still needed to leave Sophie.

There was still so much work that was left unfinished and there was no hope of bringing her with him. Could he actually convince Sophie to leave the life she knew behind her and come with him? 

It would be a miracle if Sophie didn't hate Leland once she knew what happened.

The Alpha needed to come back at another time and actually avenge Sophie's family if he could gain the courage to speak with her again. 

The man was never good with words, and now he didn't know how to tell Sophie that her husband was very likely dead because of his wolfsbane consumption.

The wind howled again, interrupting his thought process. Leland knew he had gone out for too long and must come back to check on Sophie. So, he stomped on the pot and destroyed it before he went back to the hut.

Once Leland arrived back at Sophie's home, he found the woman was still asleep, shivering and crying in her sleep. The man sighed at the sight.

"I have to go,  but…" Leland touched Sophie's hand right shoulder. His touch was extremely gentle, but he knew what he would do next would give her pain. He took a deep breath. "I will make sure you are safe."

He bent down and pressed her right shoulder to his mouth. His fangs grazed against her skin and she winced in pain in her sleep, but Leland continued. His fangs cut through her skin and blood trickled from the small wounds he inflicted on her.

Leland left his mark on her.  He did it to ensure that Sophie would become safe. This mark protection would last until the next full moon. Whatever happened to her, and if she was in danger, he would always know.

Initially, he wanted to become mates with her, so he could care for her and protect her, just like what he promised to Anne Hansley, Sophie's mother, many years ago. 

However, now that he needed to leave and couldn't actually become mates with Sophie, the Alpha could only mark her to keep her safe. 

This way, no other lycan would bother Sophie because they could smell his scent and his mark on her. And if she was in danger, they would actually come to her rescue if Leland wasn't around.

This was the only way to keep her safe until Leland could check on her before the next full moon came.

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I like the title of this chapter.. "Marked by The Alpha" sounds sexy. What do you think? XD